Man spat hash brown into assault victim’s face

A hash brown was spat into a woman’s face by a man who verbally abused her and yesterday he denied the assault.

John Reidy, aged 47, of Glentrasna Hill, The Glen, Cork, was asked by his barrister Alan O’Dwyer if he was eating a hash brown on the morning and if he spat it into Bianca Bower’s face. Reidy replied: “Absolutely not”.

However, Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said after hearing both sides of the case that the evidence against Reidy was overwhelming.

“For reasons best known to himself he assaulted this lady by spitting food into her face,” said the judge.

Reidy had been convicted and fined €300 on the same evidence at Cork District Court. He appealed the entire case at Cork Circuit Appeals Court yesterday.

Judge Ó Donnabháin said:“A €300 fine does not properly deal with the unpleasantness and threat behind this behaviour which I am not happy with. He has to curtail himself in relation to Bianca Bower or he will go to jail.”

The judge imposed a three-month jail sentence which he suspended on condition that Reidy would not go within 500 yards of Ms Bower for the next 12 months and on condition that he would behave himself in relation to her and not contact her by phone or text message.

Ms Bower said he had sent threatening texts to her before this incident as she and two friends were bringing children to school on the morning of March 29 2016.

“John Reidy started cursing and calling us junkies and c*** and very slanderous words. He spat in my face,” said Ms Bower.

A woman who was present at the time said she saw Reidy eating something purchased from a local shop and spitting it into the injured party’s face.

Reidy admitted that he did remark, “The junkies are out early”. He claimed that Ms Bower then called him a “wanker”.